Diphenols are monomeric starting materials for polycarbonates, polyiminocarbonates, polyarylates, polyurethanes and the like. Commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,060 discloses diphenolic monomers based on 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) propionic acid and L-tyrosine alkyl esters (desaminotyrosyl-tyrosine alkyl esters). Subsequent related patents involve variations of this basic monomer structure, including halogenated radiopaque diphenolic monomers, such as the 3,5-di-iododesaminotyrosyl-tyrosine esters (I2DTX, wherein X=ester group, e.g., E=ethyl, H=hexyl, O=octyl, etc.) disclosed by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0034769. The disclosures of both publications are incorporated by reference. Examples of other polymers suitable for various bio-engineering applications include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,665,831; 5,916,998 and 6,475,477, along with the polymers described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0024266, the disclosures of all of which are also incorporated by reference.
Although these monomers are useful in the synthesis of polymers for many medical implant applications, the rapidly evolving field of bioengineering has created a demand for a diverse library of different types of polymers offering a wide variety of choice of physical and mechanical properties. It is desirable that libraries of many different materials be available so that the specific polymer properties can be optimally matched with the requirements of the specific applications under development.